A bell sounded in the distance alerting the settlement to their arrival. The question still hung in the air mixing with the sound of the bell. Alexandria wasn’t ready to give up just yet. She did need to know what the young woman planned on doing when they arrived. There wasn’t much time left before that happened. “We will have to play that all by ear. There is no telling what is going to happen once we dock.” The young girl wasn’t going to give them anything at the moment it would seem. That was not how Alexandria wanted to do this but there was no time left to argue.

Lyric maneuvered them into the nearest dock making sure to keep the tow lines from breaking. They didn’t need to lose their ships. Running over to the anchor she tossed it over the side. The sound of the water was soothing but short lived. A ramp hit slammed against the ship as half a dozen women with spears marched onto the ship. They surrounded both Alexandria and the young woman with their spears out. Alexandria raised her hands not making any sudden movements. From the looks of the docks and the guards it didn’t seem like the settlement was in much trouble. She wondered why the young woman had made it seem like they were in trouble.

The young woman stepped in front of the guards. “Wait there is no need for this. These people are here to trade.” She put her hands forward trying to stop them from doing anything rash. The nearest guard stepped forward looking her up and down.

“Where are your friends and why are you aboard a pirate ship?” She pointed up to the flag waving in the wind above the mast. The spears still were aimed at them both which didn’t give Alexandria much confidence in the young woman’s plan so far. Something needed to be done before blood was spilled.

“We were ambushed at the island waiting for a walled city patrol to come by. These pirates were bringing me here so they could trade things that we needed. It was a judgement call. Is there a problem?” The guard leader stepped forward raising a hand to strike her. The young woman closed her eyes standing up straight bracing for the impact.

There was no way Alexandria was going to stand there and watch that. “How about we get down to the business of trade first? You can deal out punishment after you see what we have to offer.” Her fists were clenched. It was taking everything she had to not jump forward and rip that guard's arm off. If the settlements were supposed to be different from the walled cities, she wasn’t seeing it yet.

The guard turned to Alexandria with a sour look on her face. “You don’t have any say here. Be glad you were not sunk before even reaching the docks. She will take the punishment now unless you want to take it for her?” Her hand was frozen in the air. Alexandria was beginning to think the settlement wasn’t suffering at all. Of course, keeping your warriors fit would be a smart way to keep the settlement safe. Spears moved closer to Alexandria’s face.

Lyric came down from the helm hand going down to the handle of her cutlass. Alexandria shook her head in response. There was no reason to kill anyone just yet. She needed to think of something aside from getting struck in the face. “I have no intention of taking her punishment. We are only here to do business. Right now, this is the opposite of that.” Looking around at the spears that now encircled her cracking her neck a bit. If they were going to fight at least it would be a challenge.

“Your business doesn’t matter if you killed some of our people.” Turning back to the young woman. “Are you going to say anything or does this pirate speak for you?” The guard wasn’t pleased at all. The young woman just stood there for a moment. The silence was almost unbearable. Alexandria was tired of listening to all this nonsense. If they were going to trade it needed to be now. There wasn’t any time to waste.

A strong click echoed down from the crow’s nest as Tyra’s rifle appeared from the edge. There were too many guards for her to take out. However, she would have fun doing it until they reached her. Everything was at a standstill. Spears all around Alexandria’s head. Lyric was ready to draw her cutlass. Now Tyra was locked and loaded. The lead guard looked around biting her bottom lip as the tension rose to extremely high levels.

“How about we allow them to explain themselves?” A woman’s voice boomed onto the deck followed by the heavy thudding of boots on the dock. All the guards and the young woman stood at attention. A woman dressed in what looked like a modified walled city guard uniform walked up the ramp and onto the ship. Judging from the reactions the guards and young woman made. This woman must be of high standing in the settlement. The guards shuffled off the boat making room for the woman but not leaving just yet. They lined the ramp way spears at the ready.

Alexandria had not seen that uniform in a long time. She gagged a bit just from the site of it. It didn’t have all the patches and emblems which made it bearable. The woman walked straight up to Alexandria stopping only to look up at the rifle pointing down at them. Turning her attention back to the captain she spoke. “So, what can you tell me about what happened to my ambush unit? After that we can discuss this business, you want to conduct so much.”

Cracking her neck a few times and relaxing her fists Alexandria replied. “My crew and I were looking for an island to stash some of our excess goods. We spotted a group of walled city guards. Rather than talk to them we decided to attack. Everyone aside from the young woman here died in one hit. It wasn’t until after we found out they were from your settlement.” The woman looked at Alexandria for a moment breathing through clenched teeth. She wasn’t amused.

Another round of silence hit the deck. This time it was for a different reason. Tyra had stood up with her rifle still at the ready. There was no need to hide anymore since everything was out in the open. Tyra wasn’t involved in all the killing but that wouldn’t matter. This woman seemed like the type to kill you once all the facts were in. There wasn’t much left to do but wait to hear what she had to say.

“That is a rather lengthy story you have there. Why would you decide to come all the way here just to trade after killing my ambush team?” The question posed was a very good one. Trading at this point was going to be their life blood. Even though they had three ships to use and more cargo than they knew what to do with. That didn’t mean they were in the clear or could survive. Information and new crew members were what she really needed. Resources could be obtained fairly easily.

“We didn’t have much of a choice. The supplies were just going to go bad. Plus, information and new crew members are much higher on the list of priorities. Wouldn’t you agree? I am sorry I didn’t catch your name.” Alexandria was surprised how calm and collected she was acting at the moment. They could be killed at any moment yet she was talking as if everything was fine. Even if it came down to fighting, she knew Tyra and Lyric would gladly die beside her.

Letting out an exasperated sigh the leader chuckled. It wasn’t what anyone was expecting, especially after hearing almost half a dozen of her soldiers were killed. “It is refreshing to hear someone speak honestly. If you weren’t a pirate an invitation to join us would be on the table. My name is Sam if you must know.”

Alexandria wrinkled her nose a bit confused. “Well Sam my name is Alexandria. We came across a ship loaded with cargo. Your settlement is the first one to get a look at what we have to trade. What is going to happen next?” She was unsure of what just happened. It was nice to see they were not about to die. However, trusting someone who could shake off that much death made her feel uneasy. She glanced at the others who both still looked ready to fight.

“We are in desperate need of trade. The ambush unit you killed was looking to score goods from anyone that passed by. Usually, it is only walled city guards hence the uniforms. It was a mistake that killing you won’t reverse.” She paused, placing a hand on the young woman’s shoulder. “Do you feel as though these pirates need to die for their crimes?” Alexandria looked at the young woman since their fate now lay in her next words.

There was either going to be trade or mass bloodshed. Alexandria doubted the rest of the settlement would just sit by and let them leave without a fight. The young woman didn’t say anything for a few moments. You could feel the tension rising all around. All the guards on the ramp were now looking at her. “Even though the loss was great there is no sense in killing as you said. I saw all the cargo and trading is the routine I would take.” There was a group sigh of relief as Sam patted her on the back turning back to Alexandria.

“It would seem you are saved by my daughter here. However there needs to be some form of compensation for the families of the slain warriors.” Alexandria nodded in agreement as she gestured to the bodies not far from the mast. Sam bowed her head in respect, snapping her fingers. The guards on the ramp set their spears on the deck and began to move the bodies off the ship.